Garment box and hanger therefor



June 5, 1934. DUKES 1,961,742

GAHMENT BOX AND HANGER THEREFOR Filed April 24, 1931' 2 sheets-sheet 1WITNESS @Y nr OR/vsr June 5, 1934. l, DUKES 1,961,742

GARMENT BOX AND HANGER THEREFOR Filed April 24. 1951 2 Skeeter-Sheet| 2E .5.

H 1Il m ,f/ wf /NVENTOR If 1;lil

H VIV Il l wl-rNEss v I l g BY @VM/1m 6 L) .HTTORNEY Patented Jupe s,1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 'I'he present invention relates toreceptacles for coats, suits or other garments, and the object of theinvention is to provide a device of this character in which a garmentmay be readily packed and shipped without losing its shape and/orotherwise becoming so wrinkled or mussed as to require re-pressingbefore it is ready to use.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved garment hangeror form about which the garment is folded when packed in the box, whichis suitably shaped to be form-fitting and thus preserves theproper'lines of the garment and eliminates undue wrinklng andparticularly the breaking of the front and shoulders of a coat,

l l5 and which coacts with the box to keep the garment from shiftingtherein in the handling of the box as in transit. l

A further object of the invention is to provide improved means wherebythe hanger may be easily and quickly attached to and detached from thebox, as desired, thus making it possible to apply the garmentconveniently to the hanger with the latter separate from the box, toinsert the hanger after the garment has been applied thereto into thebox and secure it in position therein, to remove the hanger with thegarment thereon in unpacking the box so that the garment may be hung upon the hanger ready for use, and also to use the box with or without thehanger as occasion may require.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a strong, durableand eilicient connection between the hanger and the box, and a hangerwhich may be. employed with a collapsible or folding type of :box and isitself adapted to be folded flat, and to attain the various objectsabove referred to with a simple and inexpensive construction.

The various features of novelty which char- 40 acterize my invention arepointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming apart of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention,however, and the advantages possessed by it, reference should be had tothe following descriptive matter and accompanying drawings, in which Ihave described and illustrated one embodiment of my 'invention:

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of such embodiment of my invention showingthe box in open position;

Fig. 2 is a plan'view of the blank for forming the box` shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a plan view, with a coat applied to the hanger and foldedready for 'the closing of the box;

Fig. i is an enlarged transverse section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

5 is a. fragmentary view of the box andO hanger, showing them foldedflat with the hanger against the box and in position to be movedlongitudinally thereof (in the direction of the arrow) into engagementtherewith;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section on the line 65 6-6 of Fig. 5; f

Fig. 7 is a similar longitudinal sectional view showing the hangerengaged with the box and such parts moved to an intermediate positionapproximately midway between their folded and distended positions; and

Fig. 8 is a similar longitudinal sectional view showing the parts indistended position with the hanger locked in operative engagement withbox.

My improved garment receptacle consists of a garment box and a garmenthanger therefor, provided respectively with coacting members adapted tobe moved easily and quickly into or out of interlocking relation toattach the hanger to or detach it from the box, a'nd arranged, when 80interlocked, to hold the hanger securely in position.

In the embodiment of my invention herein shown for the purpose ofillustration, the box 1 is of the collapsible or folding type and formedof cardboard, pasteboard, ber board or other suitable material. It maybe made from a single blank, such as shown in Fig. 2, which is scored orcreased, as indicated in dot and dash lines, to form lines of fold. Bymeans of these lines of fold the central portion of the blank is dividedinto a bottom 2, a cover or top 3, and an intermediate end wall 4 commonto and joining the same.

The bottom has side walls 5 and at its free 95 end an end wall 6 whichis provided along its outer edge with an end flap 7 preferablycoextensive in length with such end wall and formed in its outer edgeabout midway between its ends with a recess 8. At each end of the endwall 6 and its flap 7 the blank is cut or slit longitudinally, asindicated at 9, to provide corner flaps 10 integral with and extendingfrom the adjacent ends of the respective side walls 5 and scored orcreased to provide oblique fold lines 11. The cover 3 is similarlyformed and has side walls 12, an end wall 13, an end flap 14 extendingalong the outer edge of such end wall, cuts or slits 15 and corner flaps16 having oblique fold lines 17. At the opposite ends of the inter- 1,10

mediate end wall 4 and between the adjacent ends of the correspondingside walls 5 and 12 are connecting members 18 which are recessed asindicated at 19 and diagonally scored or creased for folding asindicated at 20.

In the erected box the end walls 6 and 13, the side walls 5 and 12 andthe connecting members 18 between the latter, are all bent to uprightpositions lwith the corner flaps 10 and 16 spanning'the corners betweenthe side and end walls and lying against the inner faces of the endwalls. The end flaps 7 and 14 are turned inwardly against the innerfaces of the end walls with their end portions overlapping thecorresponding corner flaps. Suitable fastening devices, such as wirestitches or staples 21, pass through each end wall and the correspondingcorner aps and end flap, to secure these parts together adjacent thecorners of the box, each such fastening device being so located as topass through a corner flap between the extremity thereof and its obliquefold line 11, and through an end portion of the end flap at a pointsuitably spaced from its adjacent extremity so that beyond the fasteningdevice the end portion is free. The middle portion of each end flap ispreferably also secured to the corresponding end wall of the box by asuitable fastening device 22.

With such a construction, the erected box may be easily and quicklycollapsed or folded substantially flat, merely folding the side walls 5and 12 and their connecting members 18 inwardly against the inner facesof the bottom 2, cover 3 and intermediate end wall 4, and folding theend walls 6 and 13 outwardly to lie in substantia1ly-the same plane asthe other parts. In this folding the free end portions of the end flaps7 and 14 are adapted to yield or'to be sprung sufficiently to permit thecorner flaps 10 and 16 to be doubled upon themselves along the obliquefold lines l1 and 17 to occupy positions such as illustrated in Fig. 5.'Ihe reversal of the operation restores the box to erected form.

My improved garment hanger may be made from a sheet of cardboard,pasteboard, fiberboard or any other suitable material, and comprises abody 23 adapted to be received within the bottom of the box and securedto the end wall 6 thereof. The body is formed at its upper end with anelongated neck portion 24 which merges into oppositely sloping shoulderportions 25. The side edges of the body are preferably slightly curvedinwardly, as indicated at 26, better to conform to the natural shape ofa garment applied to the hanger, while the lower edge of the body isdesigned to extend parallel with and in close proximity to theintermediate end wall 4 of the box when the latter is closed. The bodymay be formed with a slot 27 therethrough to receive a pair of trousersor other articles of apparel, and also formed in the neck portionthereof with an opening 28 by means of which the device may be hung upwhen removed from the box.

At the upper end of its neck portion the hanger is provided with anattaching member 29 which is preferably transversely elongated and haswing portions 30 projecting laterally on opposite sides of the neckportion. In the present embodiment of the invention the attaching memberis formed from the same sheet of material as the body of the hanger, andat its junction with the neck portion 24 there is provided atransversely eX- tending crease or line of scoring 31 which issubstantially ,coincident with the median line of the wings so that thewings not only project on opposite sides of the neck portion but alsoVon opposite sides of the said line of junction. This attaching memberinitially lies in the same plane as the body of the hanger and is formedwith a recess 32 at about the middle of its upper edge, and

Imitered at its upper corners as indicated at 33.

The crease or line of scoring 31 provides a swinging joint between theattaching member and the body of the hanger which permits the former tobe moved to lie in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the latter.

To secure the hanger to the boxv the end wall 6 of the box is folded orcollapsed as illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, and the attaching member isinserted beneath the end flap 7 with the ends of the attaching memberbeneath the ends of the corresponding corner flaps 10 and with the wallsof the recess 32 straddling the `fastening device 22. The mitered edges33 of the attaching member facilitate this insertion and may be arrangedto abut against and wedge between the fastening devices 21. The end wall6 of the box is then swung upwardly, as illustrated in Fig. 7, to theerect position shown in Figs. 4 and 8. In this position the attachingmember is held in interlocking engagement with the coacting members ofthe box, against accidental displacement.

It will be noted that with the arrangement shown there is provided onthe inner face of thev end wall 6 what may be called a pocket whichopens toward the bottom of the box, which is exposed for insertion orremoval of the attaching member 29 when the end wall 6 is foldedoutwardly to inoperative position, and which is, in effect, closed bythe bottom 2 when the end wall is swung upwardly to its erect oroperative position, so that the attaching member cannot be withdrawntherefrom.

By having the attaching member inserted under the ends of the corner aps10 as well as the end flap '7, any strain imposed on the box by thehanger is better distributed and the device is rendered more durable.The fastening device 22 serves to prevent the middle portion of the endflap 6 from becoming bent or sagging under weight applied by the hanger,and is also adapted to coact with the end walls of the recess 32 tolimit or prevent the shifting of the hanger from side to side in thehandling of the box. Such lateral shifting is further resisted by havingthe mitered edges 33 abutting against and wedged between the fasteningdevices 21. Since the swinging joint between the attaching member andthe body of the hanger is substantially coincident with the median lineof the wing portions 30, the hanger is adapted to be suspended withinthe box so as to lie substantially midway between the bottom 2 and thetop 3 when the box is closed and in an upright position. Furthermore,the upper end of the neck portion 24 is positioned in and passes throughthe recess 8 in the free edge of the end flap 7 and is held by the endwalls of such recess against lateral shifting.

In the use of the invention a coat or other garment to be packed in thebox is hung on the hanger while the latter is removed from the box. Theneck portion 24 being elongated, as above described, permits the garmentto be applied to the hanger with the collar turned up, so as to preservethe so-called soft roll of the collar which tends to be lost when agarment is packed with its collar turned down. As the shoulder portions25 and the inwardly curvedr side portions 26 are shaped to beform-fitting, the garment is smoothly supported on the hanger and theusual tendency of the garment front and shoulders to become broken iseliminated. The hanger with the garment applied thereto is then insertedin the box and locked in position therein as above described, the lowerpart of the garment being folded up around the lower edge of the body ofthe hanger as illustrated in Fig. 3. Upon the closing of the box thegarment is firmly held in this position and may be shipped withoutlosing its shape and/or otherwise becoming so wrinkled or mussed as torequire re-pressing before it is ready for use. It will be noted thatthe position of the garment which is doubled around the lower edge ofthe body of the hanger is held between the same and the intermediate endwall 6 of the box in the closed position of the latter, this beingadvantageous since it is a further means of preventing accidentalshifting of the garment in transit. When the box reaches its destinationthe hanger with the garment thereon may be readily detached and removedfrom the box and the garment hung up on the hanger ready for use.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to theparticular form of box and hanger shown and described for the purpose ofillustration. The invention may be employed with other types of boxes,and various changes may be made in the form and arrangement of the box,the hanger and the separable connection between the two, withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in theappended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. The combination with a garment box having a wall movable to operativeand inoperative positions, of a garment hanger and members on the walland the hanger adapted to be engaged in the inoperative position of thewall and locked in engagement by and upon the movement thereof tooperative position.

2. The combination with a collapsible garment box having a marginal wallprovided with a flap doubled over against and secured to the inner facethereof to thereby provide a pocket between said flap and said wall, ofa garment hanger having a member thereon insertable under said/ap whensaid box is in collapsed condition separa/.bly to connect the hanger tothe box.

3. The combination with a garment box having a marginal wall movable tooperative and inoperative positions and provided with a pocket open inthe inoperative position of the wall and closed in the operativeposition thereof, of a garment hanger having a member freely insertablein and removable from the pocket in the inoperative position of saidwall, and held in the pocket in the operative position of said wall.

4. The combination with a garment box provided With a pocket movableinto positions to open and close the same, one of the walls of saidpocket being formed with a recess in its edge at the mouth of thepocket, of a garment hanger having a member insertable in the pocketseparably to connect the hanger to the box, with a portion of the hangerpositioned in and extending through said recess when the pocket is inclosed position.

5. A garment hanger comprising a body and an attaching member having aswinging joint connection therewith and projecting laterally on oppositesides of the same, said swinging joint connection being located in aline substantially intermediate the side edges of said laterallyprojecting portions.

6. A garment hanger comprising a body and a at attaching memberextending from the upper end of the body and having a swinging jointconnection therewith about an axis lying substantially intermediate theside `edges of said member and disposed transversely with respect tosaid body, said member being formed in its free edge with a recess.

ISRAEL DUKES.

